


We made a vow

by PerriewinkleNerdie



Category: Open Heart (Visual Novels)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-02
Updated: 2020-10-02
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:35:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,641
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26771521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PerriewinkleNerdie/pseuds/PerriewinkleNerdie
Summary: How would the events in Chapter 11 impact Ethan and Claire if they were married?
Relationships: Ethan Ramsey/Main Character (Open Heart)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 44





	We made a vow

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, hi, hello! How are we doing this (kinda, but not really, uni started and I feel the need to sleep and complain even tho nothing has happened yet, really) fine day? It's weekend, guys! Yesterday I got an ask with an idea that felt way too painful and emotional for me to not write. So, we brainstormed; we wrote; we made an edit; here we are now.   
> Enjoy! <3

Nothing that happened so far that day clued him in that something was about to happen. He went about his day as usual, depending on his coffee to push him through the sleepiness he was feeling. A slight smirk appeared on his lips every time he remembered how his wife kept him up all night, being the sole reason for his tiredness. She would, of course, deny everything and say that it was him who kept her up, not the other way around, but in those moments, neither of them ever cared who started and who made it last.

Everything that day was going perfectly. Which should have been his first red flag.

He never would have believed it was possible to happen, but as soon as he turned the corner, the air changed. A blow to his chest and a hand wrapping around his heart, squeezing tighter with each step forward he took. It was getting harder to breathe and he couldn’t explain it. Then he looked inside the room of the senator, and suddenly he knew everything and nothing at once.

Claire noticed him almost immediately. Their silent conversation lasted only a fraction of a second, after which he was throwing himself at the door, trying to reach her and find answers to his confusion. But the door wouldn’t budge; her grip on the handle was tight, her shoulder keeping the door closed.

“Ethan, don’t come in here.” She exclaimed, panic seeping into her features. He didn’t understand; he desperately needed to, though, because with each moment that passed with a barrier between them, the chances of him keeping a level head were getting smaller and smaller.

“Claire, what’s happening?” he asked, pulling his eyes away from her, not without effort, to diagnose the situation in the room. Pieces of the puzzle were falling into place, painting a horrifying picture in his mind. He looked back at her, pleading with his gaze for her to tell him that it wasn’t what he already knew was the case. But she couldn’t do that.

“Travis just tried to kill the Senator. Ed escaped, and whatever was in that can got on Travis, Danny and Bobby. Rafael and I were affected too, though not as much.”

“How much?”

“I breathed some in. Maybe some more on my hands.” They both looked down at her wrists, a layer of an unknown substance sparkling in the bright light of the room. “It’s bad, Ethan. I just don’t know how bad yet.”

Ethan refused to look away from her for a long moment. If only he could take her into his arms and shield her from it all. They could be far away from this, far away from idiots like the Senator, far away from danger. It was too late for that now; she was already affected. She could already be on her way to leaving him, and all he was able do was stop and stare at her. Scared that if he looked away, she would disappear.

After making sure that no one could see her face, she mouthed ‘I love you’, her lower lip trembling as tears threatened to fall down her cheeks. He couldn’t mirror her gesture, with people standing behind her having the potential to see him, but he could place his hand on the glass and pretend that he could feel the warmth of her hand when she did that too.

“I’ll make it right, Claire. You’re not dying on me. Not now, not ever.”

\--------------

“Dr. Herondale, you need to change into these.” A nurse’s voice was a bit quiet due to the hazmat suit she wore. Extending her hand, she handed Claire a plain gown, waiting patiently for her to change in the bathroom. When she was handed back the clothes the blonde doctor was wearing, she noticed a necklace around her neck. “All the jewelry too.”

Claire shook her head. “I never take this off. I can’t.”

“I’m afraid there’s no other choice, Dr. Herondale. I’m sorry about that.” She responded with a sympathetic look on her face, but there was no discussion.

With a shuddered breath, Claire reached for the clasp at the back of her neck, taking the necklace off tenderly. A golden band was hanging from it. Her wedding ring. When she’s at work, she keeps it hidden to not raise any questions, and so does Ethan. But as soon as their shifts end, they fall back into the comfort of their marriage and rings go back on their fingers.

She traced the rim of the ring with her thumb. Pensively, she turned to the nurse. “Can you give it to Dr. Ramsey? For safekeeping?”

“Of course, I’ll get that to him right away.”

Claire didn’t have to wait long to see her husband again. As soon as he got the ring, he shot up from his seat and practically ran to her. She was sitting by the wall, eyes closed most likely due to a wave of nausea that she was complaining about the last time he saw her.

“Claire?” he called out, his voice coming out much gentler than he knew it should. She looked at him, standing up slowly to walk over to the window. She didn’t even have to ask to know why he was there.”

“You got it, right?” she asked as a formality, an attempt to make them both feel better. He laughed quietly, raising his hand to show her a thin golden chain, wrapped around his hand lightly, a sparkling band touching his wrist.

“How are you feeling?” he nodded towards the room, grasping at any shred of information to ease his mind even a little bit.

“My head hurts a bit, but nothing else has changed. Any progress on the diagnosis?” as soon as the question left her mouth, his face fell. He shook his head, closing his eyes in shame.

“I feel like I’m letting you down.”

“Ethan, no.” she interrupted him before he could say anything else. “I can’t shake you literally, so you’re going to have to do that yourself. None, and I mean it, _none_ of this is your fault. You hear me?”

“Yes, Dr. Herondale.” He teased, smiling for the first time since the incident. He hesitated for a bit, then decided to go with his idea. Unwrapping the chain from around his hand, he slipped it around his neck, letting it rest against his chest, protected from the view by the fabric of his shirt. “You better come out to take it back. I have mine, it needs you to have the other one.”

\-------------

Sienna was keeping her eyes trained on the road ahead of them, nervously twisting her fingers. Ethan was almost waiting for his wife’s friend to ask the question that he could practically hear in the way she was shaking impatiently in her seat.

“Claire talks a lot about you.” she said innocently, doing exactly what Ethan expected her to do. And yet, he didn’t know how to respond. _You should have thought of a response._

“We’re friends.” He decided to play it safe, hoping that she would drop the subject. She didn’t.

“It seems like more than friends, with all due respect.”

Ethan was never a person to say the first thing that comes to his mind. So why did he start now? “I have feelings for her.” And as soon as the words left his mouth, a flash of cold ran down his spine, freezing him in place.

Sienna gasped, her face lighting up giddily. “I freaking knew it! You have the vibe!”

“I beg your pardon?” Ethan stuttered, trying to do some damage control that he knew was most likely a futile effort. She turned to look at him with a serious glint in her eyes.

“It’s very subtle, I just notice those things. Does she know? About your feelings?”

“She does.”

“So you two are dating?” another excited scream filled the air in the car, making him feel as though the walls were closing in on him. They spent so long trying to keep their feelings hidden, and then there was Sienna that seemingly saw through it all, even if she didn’t know the details. Clearly, she didn’t know everything, but with enough reckless confessions from him, she’d put it all together.

“No.” he answered truthfully. “We’re not dating. We talked about it and decided to stay away from each other at work, so we wouldn’t risk her career. And that’s all I’ll say on that matter.” He added, cutting her short when he saw her opening her mouth to ask more questions.

The only sound that could be heard was the gently hum of the car moving on the concrete. The atmosphere got heavier as the glooming vision of possible tragedy hung over their heads.

“Do you think they’ll survive this?” Sienna asked quietly, fighting the tightness in her throat and the tears in her eyes. Ethan didn’t want to have to think about it. Up until this point, he wouldn’t let himself even think about the possibility of losing Claire.

“I- I don’t know.” He hated not having an answer, hated the feeling of uncertainty. He’s been terrified before; he’s felt helplessness before too. This time was worse on so many levels that his mind refused to register all of them. His determination was burning in his chest, fighting the terror in his mind. It wasn’t over. Not yet. “But I’ll do everything in my power to make sure that they do.”

\-------------

They’re left alone as their friends and colleagues rushed off to race against the time and find the cure. Ethan stood by her side, looking at her from behind the plastic pane of his suit, his whole body aching as though he’s ran a marathon. Because in a way, he did. She was looking at him with tired eyes, her signature glimmer in her eyes gone. The only thing that was still left of his wife that hasn’t changed was the smile on her face. A smile she had only for him; a smile that was the first thing that made him fall for her. He could see through her façade, though, knowing how much it cost her to smile like that.

“Claire, I-“ he started speaking. He thought he was strong enough to pull them both through it. How wrong he was. He choked on his words, all defenses falling to the ground and baring him to the pain that was shadowing him for the whole day. She fell into his arms, her tears trailing down the stiff layer of his suit, the skin of her cheek sticking to it uncomfortably.

“Promise me.” she whispered, trying to clear her throat enough to make her voice more audible. “Promise me that you won’t shut down. That you won’t push everyone away.” she felt him freeze when he realized what she was doing. He tired to move away so he could protest, but she kept him in place firmly, her arms holding onto his waist tightly. “Promise me you’ll take care of Jenner. And let Naveen in. And Alan. And Louise.” He stopped fighting, surprised by her words. She nodded, nuzzling her face into his chest. “Yes, her too. You’re going to need people to survive this if- if I-“

She started hyperventilating, unable to finish whatever sentence she had in mind. Ethan’s grip on her grounded her in reality that she didn’t want to be in but wouldn’t have it any other way at the same time. Because in this reality, she had him, and he was everything she ever needed. She wouldn’t give him up for anything.

Ethan’s entire body began to shake, wrecked by sobs that stole the air he was supposed to be breathing. He picked her up and carried her to bed, gathering her in his arms and rocking them both in a gentle back and forth motion.

“Stop. You’re not dying. You’re not leaving me this soon, and I’m not leaving you either. We promised each other a life together.” He picked her left hand up, pressing his thumb to her ring finger. Remembering that her ring was with him, he places her hand over the place it was resting, letting her feel the outlines of it through the rough material of the suit. “It’s waiting to go back on that little finger of yours. And it will. We’re gonna find a cure and you’ll be fine.” His embrace brought her closed, making her basically lie down on top of him, as close as their current situation would allow.

“I’m going to take you back home and take care of you. Help you overcome all the demons that haunt that beautiful mind of yours.” He continued, their legs tangled despite hers being covered by the blanket, her hand holding onto his tightly, wishing she could feel his skin instead of a thick layer of plastic. “I’m going to love you so much and so hard that you’ll forget about the world outside. I love you Claire. We’re going to have a long and happy life together, you, Jenner and I.”

“And we’ll get a cat.” She laughed, the sound mixing with her sobs that slowly begun to subside. He smiled at the thought, finding it hard to disagree with her.

“I’m sure Jenner would love that.”

“I already asked and got the approval.”

“Of course you did.” there was lightness in his voice, some of the weight lifted off his chest. Long as she was breathing, talking and holding him tight, there was still time. “We’re going to get through this.” he whispered, holding her long into the night as she slept.

\-----------

Next morning brought them the hope they needed along with the cure. Hour after hour, her situation was looking up and eventually, she was cleared to be transferred to the other room. Claire couldn’t begin to explain the sheer happiness she felt when she saw her husband walk through the door without that ridiculous suit on. Her body came to life when she embraced him tightly and actually felt him, the warmth of his body, the lines of his muscles, all of which she knew by heart. Tears were falling down her cheeks and his, mixing together the further down they were, and their embrace didn’t seem friendly, but they were both beyond the point of caring. No more distance, no more danger to keep them away from each other.

Ethan walked her to her new room, taking his time to not strain her too much. He even suggested carrying her there, but she refused to let him out them like that, saying that there’s a perfectly working wheelchair that would do the job almost as good as his arms.

“Though, for the record, I prefer your arms.” She grinned, winking at him playfully.

He took a quick look over the corridor, making sure they were alone before locking the door behind them and stepping closer to her. He reached for the chain around his neck and took it off, sliding the ring into his palm. Taking her hand in his, he put the ring on her finger, something changing in the air around them, clicking into place. Ethan raised her hand to his lips, pressing a kiss to the golden band, his eyes finding hers and locking them in an intense gaze that said everything that needed to be said.

“In sickness and in health.” He muttered, pulling on her fingers to rest her arm on his shoulder as their lips met softly. She laughed sweetly, nuzzling her nose against his in a tender act of affection.

“For better or worse.” Claire wrapped her other arm around his neck, pressing them closer together as the world melted away for a short while.


End file.
